Minimum 3 plates per order ($267) — includes laboratory analysis, results report by BMS Adelaide & free shipping
Settle plate air sampling kit for home mould screening. Place pre-poured agar plates in rooms around your home, let airborne spores settle onto the growth media for one hour, then seal and post to BMS laboratory in Adelaide for incubation and species identification. Results in 3-5 business days.
The Mould Air Test Kit uses gravity settle plates to capture airborne mould spores from inside your home. Unlike surface sampling, which only tells you what is growing on a specific spot, settle plates capture whatever is floating in the air you breathe — giving you a broader picture of indoor mould exposure.
Each kit contains three pre-poured agar plates (petri dishes with growth media). You open the plates and place them in different rooms around your home — typically a bedroom, living area, and a high-moisture area like a bathroom or kitchen. The plates are left open for one hour. During that time, airborne mould spores settle onto the agar surface by gravity.
After the exposure period, you seal the plates and post them to BMS (Biological & Medical Sciences) laboratory in Adelaide using the included pre-paid satchel. BMS incubates the plates in a controlled incubator at 25°C. Over 3-5 days, any captured spores grow into visible colonies. The laboratory identifies the species and counts the colonies on each plate, then sends you a simple results report.
Your report will list the species identified on each plate along with colony forming unit (CFU) counts. The report includes general interpretation guidance to help you understand whether your results suggest normal background levels or elevated mould presence. Different species carry different health implications — for example, finding Stachybotrys is more concerning than finding Cladosporium, even at lower colony counts.
This kit is a screening tool — it is not equivalent to professional air sampling. Settle plates show what species are present in your indoor air, but they do not precisely quantify airborne spore concentrations the way professional impaction-method air sampling does. Settle plate results are influenced by air movement, temperature, and plate placement, so they provide indicative rather than quantitative data.
If your results show elevated or concerning species (especially Stachybotrys chartarum), we recommend a professional mould assessment to identify moisture sources and determine the extent of contamination.
Settle plate results are not suitable for insurance claims, legal disputes, or tenancy tribunal evidence. Professional assessment with calibrated air sampling equipment is required for those purposes.
BMS Adelaide laboratory can identify all common mould species found in Australian buildings, including:
Black mould — High health risk
Indicator of water damage
Multiple species — Moderate risk
Common — Moderate risk
Water-indicator species
Very common — Lower risk
Common outdoor/indoor species
Water damage indicator
Common on painted surfaces
Legend: Red = High health concern, Orange = Moderate concern, Green = Lower concern (but still indicates moisture issues)
Kit delivered to your door with everything you need
Open plates in rooms and leave for 1 hour
Seal plates in bags, return via pre-paid satchel
BMS Adelaide analyses plates — results in 3-5 days
This short video guide will walk you through the full process — from unboxing through to posting your plates back to BMS Adelaide.
In the meantime, full written instructions are included in your kit and in the How to Use tab above. Questions? Contact our team.
| Sampling Method | Gravity settle plate (passive air sampling) |
|---|---|
| Plate Type | Pre-poured agar (Sabouraud Dextrose Agar or Malt Extract Agar) |
| Exposure Time | 1 hour (as directed) |
| Samples Included | 3 plates |
| Laboratory | BMS (Biological & Medical Sciences), Adelaide |
| Analysis Method | Incubation at 25°C, colony identification and count |
| Turnaround | 3-5 business days from receipt |
| Report Contents | Species identification, colony counts per plate, general interpretation |
| Report Format | PDF via email |
| Storage | Room temperature, away from moisture — use before expiry date on plates |
We had a musty smell in our bedroom that we couldn't find the source of. The settle plate kit was incredibly easy — place the plates, wait an hour, seal and post. The results came back showing elevated Aspergillus and Penicillium. That gave us the evidence we needed to push our landlord to investigate the wall cavity behind the wardrobe, where they found a concealed water leak. The species report was detailed and easy to understand.
After our house flooded I wanted to check the air quality before letting the kids sleep in their rooms again. This kit was the right tool — affordable, fast, and the results were genuinely informative. BMS lab identified what species were present and at what levels. Everything came back normal after the drying work was done. The kit gives you real data, not just a vague "mould present/absent" answer.
One of my kids has been having ongoing respiratory symptoms and our GP suggested we check the home environment. I ordered this kit not really expecting it to show anything — but the bedroom plate came back with higher-than-expected Cladosporium and some Aspergillus. We had a professional inspection done and found mould behind the skirting boards. Worth every cent to have that confirmation.
Used this as a pre-settlement check on a property that had visible staining in the bathroom. Results showed only background-level Cladosporium — consistent with normal indoor air — which matched what the vendor had told us. Good to have independent lab verification rather than taking someone's word for it. Solid product, fast results, reasonable price for BMS Adelaide laboratory analysis.
